Sheriff: Man fatally shot in Gentry, wife arrested GENTRY, Ark. (AP) - Authorities in northwest Arkansas are investigating after a man was found shot to death at a home in Gentry. Benton County Sheriff Kelly Cradduck says the shooting was reported Sunday morning at a home on Arkansas 12 in Gentry. Cradduck tells Fayetteville television station KHOG (http://is.gd/QTSuQ8 ) that the investigators believe the man was fatally shot by his wife. Authorities have not released the names of the husband ...

Obama nominates Wal-Mart's Burwell as budget chief WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Monday nominated Wal-Mart's Sylvia Mathews Burwell as his next budget chief, thrusting her into the center of Washington's heated partisan budget battles. Obama announced Burwell's selection to lead the Office of Management and Budget during a White House ceremony, noting that her appointment comes as government-wide spending cuts are going into effect that he said mean "eventually a lot of people ar...

Paris man crashes in Tulsa Co. after heart attack TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Authorities say an Arkansas man died after he apparently suffered a heart attack while driving with his 3-year-old granddaughter in Tulsa County. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says 62-year-old Roger Dale Jones of Paris, Ark., was pronounced dead after the single-vehicle crash Sunday afternoon on U.S. 412 near Tulsa. His granddaughter was not injured. A preliminary report says Jones was driving west on the highway when he suff...

Youthful drivers to be prom-time LR police target LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Police in Little Rock are to start periods of strict enforcement for drunken drivers, especially the younger ones. The first stepped-up enforcement event runs Friday through March 17, and the second is April 12-21. The department says those times coincide with proms and graduation ceremonies, when young revelers may be more likely to get behind the wheel while impaired. The agency says TV and radio ads will reinforce a...

Hospitals release study on Medicaid expansion LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A study from the Arkansas Hospital Association says expanding Medicaid's eligibility would result in a $664 million net savings to the state over the next several years and create thousands of jobs. The head of the association says the impact would be similar in a new approach being considered that would use Medicaid dollars to purchase private insurance. The association on Monday released a study it commissioned looki...

Cotton crop falling in lieu of other crops LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas agriculture officials say the cotton crop in the state is expected to drop sharply with farmers planting more profitable crops such as soybeans and corn. The National Cotton Council of America estimates that 221,000 acres will be planted in cotton in 2013 - down nearly 63 percent from the 595,000 acres planted in 2012. The previous record low for cotton acreage is 320,000 in 1983. University of Arkansas extens...

Legislators seek details on Medicaid deal LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Republican legislators who had resisted expanding Medicaid in Arkansas say they're encouraged by a new plan that would allow funds from the federal-state program to purchase private insurance for the newly eligible, but say they need more details on how such a system would work. The announcement last week that the Obama administration had given Arkansas permission to pursue the plan as an alternative to expanding Medic...

Allens Inc. to cut workforce at plant in Van Buren SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) - Allens Inc. has eliminated about 150 jobs at its vegetable processing plant in Van Buren as the company moves more jobs to its canning plant in Siloam Springs. The company says the Van Buren plant will continue to process hominy, refried beans and snacks and that a distribution center will remain operational in Van Buren. It was not clear how many jobs would be moved from Van Buren. The company said it will work to ...

Little light shed on crash that killed law officer LAVACA, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas State Police report sheds little light on a single-vehicle crash that killed a Sebastian County sheriff's corporal. The sheriff's office says 48-year-old Cpl. Terry Johnson of Barling died Saturday of injuries suffered in the crash on state Highway 96 in Lavaca. Authorities say Johnson was on routine patrol at the time. The state police report says only that the vehicle driven by Johnson went off the highway and...

Tyson to close Springdale plant, move workers SPRINGDALE, Ark. (AP) - Tyson Foods has announced plans to close its small processing plant in Springdale. The company announced this week that "changing demand for certain specialty products" led to the decision to shut down the plant. The company says the plant's about 60 hourly workers will be offered jobs at other company locations in Springdale and northwest Arkansas. The plant opened as the company's research and development pilot plant.

Analysis: Beebe, GOP have love-hate relationship LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The partnership Gov. Mike Beebe has boasted having with the Arkansas Legislature is turning more into a love-hate relationship under Republican control. They're not sworn enemies, but not exactly best friends either. They're more like frenemies. The complicated nature of that relationship is steadily becoming apparent as Beebe and the rest of the state are adjusting to the first Republican legislative majority in 138 y...

RPD budget impacted by ammo restrictionsThe gun control issue re-fired recently due to a record number of gun-violence incidents across the nation. Those events have impacted local law enforcement agencies that feel the sting from ammunition price hikes. The Russellville Police Department (RPD) is directly affected by the ammunition issue. The cost of maintaining weapons readiness for officers is contributing to a budget drain. The RPD has a $12,000 budget for range upkeep and ammun...

Suspected mall shooters were employee, ex-employee LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The manager of a food stand in a Little Rock mall where one employee was shot and killed and another was critically wounded says one of the suspects is an employee and the other is a former employee. Bryan Williams, a Sbarro manager, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/14cx3jx ) in a story published Saturday that suspect Deonte Edison was a Sbarro employee, and that Tristan Bryant, who is Williams' nephew...

Sebastian County officer dies after patrol car crash LAVACA (AP) — Sebastian County authorities said a county sheriff’s corporal has died of injuries suffered when his patrol car crashed in Lavaca. The sheriff’s department said Cpl. Terry Johnson died Saturday afternoon after being injured in the crash on state Highway 96 about 4:20 a.m. Saturday. Sheriff’s Investigator Philip Pevehouse said Johnson was on routine patrol at the time and that the cause of the crash is still under investigation. P...

Police photograph license plates, store dataLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Little Rock may not be a likely terrorism target or a gang crime hotspot, but the Arkansas capital has decided to follow the example of high-security cities by expanding electronic surveillance of its streets. A police car with a device that photographs license plates moves through the city and scans the traffic on the streets, relaying the data it collects to a computer for sifting. Police say the surveillance helps identif...

Tourism businesses to explore promotions LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas tourism-related businesses are getting an opportunity to learn how to better target potential customers as the state sees an uptick in visitors that’s largely attributable to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. The annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism runs Sunday through Tuesday in Hot Springs. The event features a Tuesday talk by Gov. Mike Beebe, as well as numerous sessions for hospitality wo...

Severe weather spawns survival store CALICO ROCK (AP) — Tornadoes, snow, ice, flooding. This area sees it all. It was dealing with such adversities following a local storm a few years ago that led two Izard County men to open what is now the largest emergency supply store in the state, Survive USA. Dave Dougherty, co-owner, said the idea for the store originated with Tom Norvold while the two were cleaning up after an ice storm at Dougherty’s farm near Evening Shade. “He was conc...

Bald eagle on mend after accident near White River MOUNTAIN HOME (AP) — Things didn’t turn out so great for a bald eagle hunting prey along the White River on Valentine’s Day. The mature bird of prey apparently was searching for food when it was injured, according to Dr. Wendy Smith of All Creatures Veterinary Hospital, where the bird is being cared for. “We’re not sure what happened to him,” Smith said, standing in the hospital’s large animal barn watching the bird pace in a dark horse stall....

Beebe signs whistleblower reward bill LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas state employees who expose government waste and inefficiencies that lead to savings for the state will be entitled to a reward starting later this year. Gov. Mike Beebe on Friday signed into law a bill changing the state's whistleblower statute to include a reward for reporting fraud and abuse in government. A state employee whose report leads to savings for the state will be entitled to 10 percent of those sa...

Gov. Mike Beebe signs guns on campus bill LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Gov. Mike Beebe has signed into law legislation allowing faculty and staff at Arkansas colleges and universities to carry concealed handguns on campus unless the college's governing board bans them. Beebe signed the measure Friday, which means the boards will have to decide whether to ban concealed handguns on specific campuses, areas of campus or in buildings. Arkansas joins 28 other states that permit concealed weapo...